Uxbridge selectmen take action against noisy roosters

Tuesday

Feb 12, 2013 at 6:00 AMFeb 12, 2013 at 6:34 PM

Selectmen voted Monday night to authorize the Board of Health chairman, in consultation with the town manager, to seek assistance from town counsel to enforce prohibitions against “nuisance” roosters being kept in a residential zoning district.

Joan R. MacKinnon of 30 Brown Terrace told selectmen she has complained to the town since 2007 that at least two roosters owned by her neighbor, Jocelyn M. Smyth of 38 Brown Terrace, have been crowing almost nonstop, especially in warmer weather, disturbing the neighborhood.

The Board of Health has ordered Mrs. Smyth several times to remove the roosters but she repeatedly brings them back.

A complaint filed by the Board of Health in Worcester Housing Court last fall was dismissed, because it was framed as a zoning issue and Mrs. MacKinnon, who said she thought the town was handling the issue, did not show up in court.

Board of Health Chairman Wayne Tucker sent a letter to Mrs. Smyth dated Dec. 6 stating: “As you know, the keeping of chickens is not allowed in Uxbridge. However, you have asserted that the roosters are pets. Conceding the fact that your roosters are pets, any pets that constitute or create a nuisance cannot be kept.”

Mrs. Smyth did not sign for the certified-mail letter until after the Dec. 21 deadline she had been given to remove the roosters.

Mr. Tucker said in the letter that if she did not comply by permanently removing the roosters, the Board of Health would file an order of notice and a petition to enforce the state sanitary code in Housing Court.

“Keep in mind, Mrs. MacKinnon has an absolute right to take action against her neighbor on her own,” said Selectman Peter Baghdasarian, who also serves on the Board of Health.

Mr. Baghdasarian was the only selectman to vote against authorizing town counsel to assist the Board of Health’s enforcement action. The three other selectmen voted in favor.

“This is not just to benefit the individuals involved in this issue,” said Julie Woods, a former selectman who spoke in support of bringing legal action to the enforcement. “To suggest that citizens have to go after each other is ridiculous. The law exists, the law is here, and they (the complainants and Board of Health) wouldn’t have gotten here if they’d had a clear path five years ago.”